Friend erythroleukemia revisited

PA Ney, AD D'Andrea - Blood, The Journal of the American …, 2000 - ashpublications.org
PA Ney, AD D'Andrea
Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 2000ashpublications.org
In 1957, Charlotte Friend described a novel retroviral disease in mice characterized by
splenic enlargement, erythroleukemia, and death. 1 This rapidly progressive disease, now
known as Friend disease, has provided a powerful tool for the study of multistage
carcinogenesis. Transformed murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells, isolated from Friend virus–
infected mice, have also provided a versatile model system for the study of erythroblast
differentiation and erythropoietin (Epo)-induced signal transduction in vitro. Over the years …
In 1957, Charlotte Friend described a novel retroviral disease in mice characterized by splenic enlargement, erythroleukemia, and death. 1 This rapidly progressive disease, now known as Friend disease, has provided a powerful tool for the study of multistage carcinogenesis. Transformed murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells, isolated from Friend virus–infected mice, have also provided a versatile model system for the study of erythroblast differentiation and erythropoietin (Epo)-induced signal transduction in vitro. Over the years, Friend disease has provided major insights into the molecular evolution of leukemia, the normal mechanisms of Epo receptor (EpoR) activation and, most recently, the molecular mechanisms of leukemia resistance. In this review, we summarize the molecular insights gained from the study of Friend disease. We focus on recent advances, with a special emphasis on studies of the Friend virus susceptibility locus, Fv2. 2
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